Snow Bunting!

07.45-08.45 from near the fishing boats: 

Common Scoter: 3 W

Red-breasted Merganser: 1 W

Red-throated Diver: 9 W

Gannet: 11 W

Kittiwake: 4 W

Auk sp: 17 W

Not the most inspiring hours watch, though I have had many poorer ones at Widewater.

A wander along the beach and around the sea containers found only a couple of Pied Wagtails, a glance out to sea saw a smart drake Eider fly by close inshore.

 The superb male Snow Bunting at Greatstone today!

When I left The Point I decided I'd have a walk along the Greatstone Dunes to The Varne and back to see if any Snow Buntings had settled in the dunes. Parking opposite Romney Sands Caravan Park I met OL, after a brief chat I set off NE along the beach. As the tide was out any waders were just dots on the horizon, after walking about a mile seeing just a couple of Pied Wagtails and a couple of Meadow Pipits I spotted a superb male Snow Bunting. It was promptly flushed by lady with a Scottie dog, fortunately it flew around and landed in more or less the same spot. The lady and her Scottie dog walked to a few feet from it, sat down, then started to read a magazine totally unaware the Bunting was only few feet away. She was completely perplexed by my photographing it.  

On the reserve at least 8 Great White Egrets, the 3 red head Goosander an adult Yellow-legged Gull but little else of note.
At Scotney I walked the cycle path the length of the main lake, the 2 feral flocks of Barnacle Geese still present along with 100s each of Lapwing, Golden Plover and Wigeon, 16 Dunlin, 8 Redshank, 7 Little Egrets and a couple of Marsh Harriers of note.